


Forgemaster

by Llewcie



Category: Ella Enchanted (2004), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Valhalla Rising
Genre: Charmont is Dionysus, Dancing, First Kiss, First Time, Fluff, Gods are sassy, Greek Gods AU, Hannibal Extended Universe, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Neither of them know what they are doing, One Eye is Hephaestus, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-19 23:28:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9465383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llewcie/pseuds/Llewcie
Summary: Charmont, the newest Dionysus, loses a bet to his roommate Aphrodite, and is required by her to go on three dates with a god of her choosing.  Before he even gets out the door, he scathingly insults the gentle, mute Hephaestus, and then must scramble to make amends. Char is not prepared when it's the gentle, one-eyed Forgemaster that refuses to take HIM to bed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My grateful thanks to Thymogenic, who betas fearlessly and encourages me endlessly, and to dear Emily, and to the various Pub chats where this story was born. This wasn't supposed to be such a monster! Any remaining mistakes are mine.

Dionysus and Aphrodite became incarnate within a few months of each other. The old Dionysus, tired of the drinking and the parties and blood in the carpets, wanted a quiet retirement on a little island, and a well-earned, sleepy and uneventful death. The old Aphrodite retired from godhood to open a little shop in Vancouver, where she sold gourmet cupcakes and occasionally still catered for her former colleagues. Charmont had been elevated to godhood because the former Dionysus bumped into him on a city bus and thought him pretty. Ella had interviewed for the job. 

But they got along well, as siblings typically do, by living in each other's pockets and annoying the hell out of each other. Even though Char was technically older, in human years, Ella had been deified earlier, so she claimed age and authority. In return, Charmont had gotten Aphro to start betting, and then found out that she was far better at it than he was. That was fairly typical of his life.

***

"If the hunter kisses the angel within 6 seasons, you will stop trying to set me up, Aphro."

She smiled enigmatically, and nodded.  "And if he doesn't, you will go on three dates of my choosing with the same person."

"Do I get to pick?"

She shook her lovely head. "Not a chance, busboy."

Char thought over the terms. If he won, she would never bother him again, at least for a couple of decades.  If he lost, he only had to endure three dates.  He would even endure the thought of having to spend three evenings with that vain prat Apollo.  He nodded, and stuck out his hand.  "Deal."

She smirked.  "Deal, little brother."

***

"I can't fucking believe they didn’t kiss.  This is a failure, an unutterable garbage dump of a show.  Aphro, did you interfere with the scriptwriters??"

She beamed at him innocently, and ate another piece of popcorn. "Why would I interfere with true love, baby boy?"

"Ugh, I hate you." He slumped down into the couch, frowning with his entire body.

"Shh, don’t lie.  It gives you wrinkles."

***  
Char lounged on the copper-colored silk sheets that made up his bed. He liked these best in the morning, since the reflection of the dawning sun lit his eyes green. Not that Aphrodite appreciated it-- she had no interest in desire, or lust, or even sex as far as Char knew. Which was obviously why he had asked if she would share her rooms with him. It was the only place in the entire mountain complex that he could totally relax. Not that he was very good at it, since he didn’t get a lot of practice. He stared moodily at the willowy goddess, and when she didn’t react, he sighed. Loudly.

"Have you decided my fate, sister?"

She peered at him from her lazy sprawl on the chaise, where she had had her nose in a book all morning. She was pretty, he supposed. Long dark hair, dark eyes, if you liked that sort of thing. She had an aura of fierce innocence about her, which was totally a fraud, as she had the most wicked sense of what she called justice. Love was not merciful. "Definitely." She ginned at him, as if she had been waiting for him to break down and ask. Your date for the next three Fridays is...." And here she paused dramatically, so that Charmont rolled his eyes.  She winked at him. "Hephaestus."

He shot up out of his chair.  "Oh, fuck no. Old One Eye?  Always filthy, never speaks?  Wears rags and doesn't bathe?  Fuck. No. Aphrodite." She bore this all with a tolerant frown that meant he could say all he wanted, but that he was still going.  Eventually he flounced into a chair and sat sulking.

"Are you done?" He scowled at her and didn't reply.  "Good, because he's waiting for you in the next room and he's just heard everything you've said.  She raised a perfect eyebrow at his blossoming dismay.  "Have fun, little brother."   She left him alone then with his dread.  He suffered for a moment, and then raised himself from the chair and walked into the adjoining room, where Hephaestus was staring with his one good eye at the floor. 

Char saw immediately that he had made an effort, and that increased his embarrassment tenfold.  Hephaestus' shirt was clean, fine linen, though it was rolled to his elbows out of habit, exposing powerful forearms.  He was clean and his hair was washed, tied at the back with a new leather thong. Though his clothing was plain, it was well fitted.  His boots had even been somewhat polished, though the scuffs wore through.  Char looked away, his own face a thousand shades of red.

“I'm sorry that you heard that.  My sister likes her little jokes, after all.” Hephaestus raised an eyebrow at that-- the one, oddly, over his blind eye.  With his good eye he fixed Char with a merciless stare.  Char tried again.  “I didn't realize.  I never would have said it, had I known you could hear.  I'm not…”

But the stare only increased in intensity, until Char could bear it no longer.  He took a step toward the older god, but Hephaestus took a step back.  Char held out his hand.  “I'm sorry.  Is that what you want to hear, Hephaestus?” At this, a sneer erupted across the forge-darkened features.  He shook his head violently, and pointed at his good eye.  

“Heph-” A sharp stamp brought him up short.  The man pointed again to his good eye.  Char shook his head.  “I don't understand.  You want me to call you One Eye?” An abrupt nod, and then Hephaestus--One Eye turned and stalked out of the room.

Char didn't follow. He sat in a plush chair and stared moodily out the window at the moonrise.  Well, at least that was over.

***

“What do you mean it's not over?  He won't even look at me now!” It had been several days and Aphrodite had refused to speak to him until he broke down and admitted that he was glad at least he didn't have to face One Eye again.  “How am I supposed to spend time with someone who refuses to look at me?”

And that in itself was tremendously frustrating; everyone looked at Char.  He was the god of desire after all-- his sister might be beautiful but he was _ravishing_. Kings and queens bowed at his feet for a whisper of breath from his mouth. A lock of his hair was valued more than a kingdom.  His teeth were pearls of great price; his eyes were the deepest sweetest blue-green. Literally no one could resist him if he turned his mind to them, and often even if he didn't.  Being refused was not something he was accustomed to.

Aphrodite merely stared at him. “You made a bargain. Just because you fucked it up right off the bat doesn't mean you can just give up on it. You owe him three dates, and by Poseidon you are going to keep your end of the bargain.”

“Three?? I endured the most humiliating evening of my eternity!”

She rounded on him then, brown eyes blazing. “And how do you think it was for him? To be asked to come and be in your company, honored to be the escort to the most "desirable" of us all, even if you are a complete _prat_. To leave the place where he finds the most comfort and to prepare himself for you, so that you would not be embarrassed by him! And to hear what came out of your perfect little mouth.” She sneered at the floor.  “Perhaps you might take a page out of his book tomorrow night, and _not speak._ ”


	2. Chapter 2

One Eye did not come to claim him for their date. Char fingered the little hourglass that his sister had pressed on him. It would only flow when he was in One Eye's presence. After brooding for a few moments, he tugged on his third nicest jacket-- the bronze one that made his skin glow and brought out the highlights in his curls, and headed down through the courts to the lower levels that held the forges. Three hours with a man who didn’t talk and wouldn't look at him. Lovely.

When he crossed over the threshold of the forge room, he could already see that One Eye had not bothered to dress for their time together. He was in a rough linen shirt worn through with burn holes, and a stained leather apron protected his chest and his hips. He was sitting at a worktable, illuminated by the fires of the forges, and he was bent over something very small. Char approached him carefully, not wanting to disturb him. Maybe they could just sit in each other's company for three hours and then one down, two to go. As he got closer, One Eye glanced up and then looked back down. Char frowned. "It's nice to see you too."

One Eye sighed nearly inaudibly, his shoulders deflating. Char was struck with a feeling he wasn't accustomed to, a sharp pain right behind his breastbone. He didn’t like it. Twiddling the hourglass, which had now begin to flow, he meandered around the large room. It had a flagstone floor, and there were paths worn smooth across it from forge to table, from table to a room full of glittering shelves. Char found himself wandering over to the shelves, where ingots of gold and silver shared space with minerals both beautiful and dull. Rainbow iridescence gleamed next to the lumpy greenish clumps of unrefined copper. Most, Char could not even identify. He admired the pretty ones for a moment, and then looked down at his hourglass.

It was no longer moving. He scowled, and tucked it back into his shirt, and then moved closer to One Eye. Maybe he could get the older god to move to a table closer to the pretty things. He peered at One Eye, who was single-mindedly focused on the small metal sculpture in his hands. Wandering closer, he peered over the table to try and make out what it was. He did admire the god's hands. Who wouldn't? Broad and strong but able to do such delicate work. Char had seen some of it, although he had none of his own. The intricate little sculptures the forgemaster made were astonishing. Tiny deer with twisted antlers and cloven hooves, fish with articulated tails that swayed back and forth when hung from thin gold wires. Never sold-- only given, and all the more treasured for that. His armor and weapons were of course, without peer. But his art… One Eye looked back up at him, and then stood up out of his chair so quickly that Char took a step back. One Eye's expression morphed to one of dismay, and then a frown. He reached out to Char, and wiggled his fingers.

Char looked at One Eye's hand, and then down at his own shirt. He frowned. "Do you want my shirt?" He supposed, that if he had to, that he could tolerate sex, if only to have those gifted hands on him. He began to pull up the hem when One Eye flushed and shook his head impatiently. He came closer, and hooked his finger under the chain of the hourglass, barely grazing Char's skin. Char bowed his head, allowing One Eye to take off the charm. "My sister gave me that." One Eye nodded, still frowning, and then studied it for a long moment. He lifted his other hand, on which was set a series of filigreed plates. With care, he touched the hourglass to the delicate goldwork. A small flash of light, and then he handed the hourglass back to Char. 

And then he blew on the filigree in his hand.

A flutter of a breeze, and the gold plates fluttered in One Eye's palm, and then lifted off to hover above his fingers, flapping rapidly. It was a butterfly. Char grinned in delight, and caught One Eye's own hesitant smile in return. He was quite handsome when he smiled, Char thought, if a person overlooked the ravaged eye, and the deep scars carved over his rugged face. The butterfly circled around Char's head a few times, and then settled into his curls, flapping contentedly. Char beamed, completely taken with the wonder of it. "It’s beautiful!" He touched it carefully, and it fluttered against his fingertips. "But." He sobered. "I have been unkind to you. I don’t deserve something so lovely."

One Eye sighed , his face falling too. He reached out and tugged the little hourglass back, and set it carefully between Char's fingertips. And then he walked away. One meter. Two. Three, which was as far away as Char had been when he was admiring the mineral collection. The sand still flowed between the top and bottom bulb. Char blinked, and looked up at One Eye, who had turned to make sure he understood. Their gazes met for a suspended moment, and then One Eye turned and walked out of the forge room, leaving Char by himself with a fluttering butterfly in his hair and a flowing hourglass between his fingers.

***

"It's not like he even wants me there." Char was muttering to himself, as he stalked back out of the basements. "He practically dismissed me, after all." The little butterfly took off again and circled around to land on his nose, its little wire feet digging in painfully. He stopped in the hallway, crosseyed, and then daintily picked it off and put it back in his hair. The butterfly immediately launched again and settled on his hand, where it fluttered accusingly at him. He scowled at it. "He made you so that he didn't have to deal with me." The butterfly shuffled its wings, and shivered. It then rotated itself 180 degrees, so that Char was now looking at its little thorax. He scoffed. "You don't want to deal with me either, do you?" The butterfly scuffed its little wire feet on his fingernail. Char sat down with his back to the wall in the empty passageway. And thought hard, which was not something he was accustomed to doing, either.

***

When he walked over the threshold again, two bottles of the best mead he could finagle from Hestia clinking against each other while hanging from his fingers, the forge room was still empty. Char followed the now irritatingly cheerful butterfly, trying not to frown himself. He had decided to give this an actual try, and if One Eye still didn’t want him, well, then at least Aphrodite would have to acknowledge that he had tried. He walked across the forge floor to the door One Eye had walked through, which opened in to a hallway that held several doors. The butterfly took him past the open bedroom, which he refrained from peering in, only noticing that One Eye's bed was large and covered in blue and looked very comfortable. At the end of the hall was a door that stood open, and the sound of water within. Char pushed through without thinking, the butterfly happily ahead of him. 

Within the room was a deep pool of clear water, and a small waterfall at one end. The same smooth flagstones were worn here too, this time to a set of stairs that sank into the water. And waist deep in the middle of the pool, his naked back turned to Char, was One Eye. 

Char froze. He knew the butterfly must be laughing at him, but he was fixed to the spot. Because he knew, intellectually, that the forgemaster would be strong. Seeing the powerful muscles flex under golden skin was an entirely different kind of knowedge. His lower back was a beautiful curve, leading to plush buttocks and strong thighs. Heavy upper arm musculature rounded out the utterly inviting physique. His skin was marked with deep blue runes and swirls, across his back and ass and thighs. Char was entranced. He moved closer, the waterfall drowning the sound of his feet on the tiles, feeling like an utter creeper but also utterly unable to help himself. One Eye was scrubbing at his hands, and his shoulder blades flexed under his skin. As Char came closer, he could make our the fine tracery of scars that mapped the god's back. They looked like… whip marks. A tiny, horrified gasp escaped him, and One Eye turned and found him there.

They were frozen in tableau, One Eye gazing interestedly at Char as Char attempted to remove his eyes from One Eye's back, until One Eye dropped his gaze to the bottles, his eyebrow over his empty eye socket quirking upwards.

"Yeah… yeah." Char finally blinked away, and set one of the bottles down on the flagstones, holding the other in his hand out to One Eye. The forgemaster turned, and Char turned an even deeper shade of red as he couldn't help but follow the trail of silvering hair down the god's broad, furred tattoo-marked chest to his groin, where his soft cock swayed, nested in coarse curls between powerful thighs. One Eye snorted at him as he stared, and Char looked away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left, and now I'm sorry to have interrupted you." But One Eye only took the bottle and opened it, tipping it back and exposing the long line of his throat as he emptied the entire bottle in one go, throat bobbing with each swallow. He handed it back before Char had even gotten his own open, the young god's throat inexplicably dry. Char smirked at himself, and making a decision, tugged off his boots awkwardly and pulled his pant legs up over his knees one-handed, and then sat at the edge of the pool and slipped his feet into the warm water. 

"May I stay with you?" One Eye shrugged, but didn't move away. He began untying his hair from its heavy top braid. Char watched him, his toes swirling in the water. The butterfly in his hair shifted its wings. "I'm…" he began. "I'm sorry I've been such a dick." One Eye merely watched him, his fingers tugging apart strands of his hair. Char swallowed a mouthful, and continued. "There's no excuse for my behaviour." He rubbed at the silk fabric covering his thigh. "But I'm accustomed to spending time in the company of people who don’t care about anything but how I look on their arm. How I fuck. That kind of thing." One Eye had stopped moving, watching him solemnly. Char motioned to him. "Here. Come here and turn your back and I'll unwind your braid."

Hesitantly, One Eye did so, walking towards him until Char's toes grazed his hips, and then turning his back. Char took a deep breath, and another drink, and then sank his fingers into One Eye's hair. It was thick and heavy, threaded through with silver and gold and bronze, as if the most delicate wire work had been woven into his hair. He tugged gently, and found it simpler to talk this way. Under his hands and against his knees, One Eye sagged ever-so-slightly into his touch. Char swallowed and continued. "So it never matters what I say. Most people will put up with the worst insults just to get into my bed, or get me on my back. I've never had anyone turn me away, until you." 

One Eye snorted with what sounded like laughter, or maybe disbelief, and Char stroked his fingers through his untangled hair. It fell to his shoulders. One Eye was completely still under him, and Char let himself stroke a little more, curling his fingers under with the pretense of getting the hair by his nape to straighten. His fingertips fell to the edge of a ropy scar between One Eye's shoulder blades, and the forgemaster froze tense underneath him, and then rounded his shoulders and shifted away until Char's hands were empty again. The older god looked up at Char, his expression bleak, and attempted a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Char thought about leaving. He thought about the butterfly still in his hair. He thought about going back to his rooms and just being quit of this whole thing, and never setting foot in the forges again. 

He slid into the water instead, still fully clothed, and swished his way through the water to the older god. "At least let me wash your hair. I won't touch your back unless you want me to." One Eye watched him come close, the expression on his face halfway between wariness and amusement, and then moved through the water towards the waterfall, where there sat a little basket of jewel-colored bottles. When Char got closer, he realized they were actually jewels carved into bottles. He'd never seen anything like it before. One Eye selected a bottle the size of his fist, cut whole from a sapphire, and gestured to Char. When Char held out his hand, he poured a pearly dollop of something that smelled like amber and honey into his palm, and then stood awkwardly, fidgeting with the bottle in his hand. Char moved closer to him, so that the ripples made by their bodies became the same ripple, and turned his back. Carefully, he rubbed the liquid into One Eye's hair.

The grunt that issued from the forgemaster's throat was the most unstudied, erotic sound Char had ever heard, and he had thought that he had heard every sound there was to make. He closed his eyes, and let his hands rub luxuriously through One Eye's long, heavy hair, scratching at his scalp and behind his ears. He could feel the ridges of scars even under that thick mane, and rubbed over them with a gentleness that he was rarely accustomed to feeling. His heart gave another aching twinge in his chest, but he stifled it, lest One Eye sense his compassion and take it for pity. Char was filled with the singular desire to inundate his companion with kindness. And under his hands, those powerful shoulders were bowed, the old god's head hanging down, and soft gasps took the place of breath. His hands rested on the edge of the pool, long fingers flexing against the stone, and Char was going to have trouble here in a moment, the sodden silk of his pants doing nothing to weigh down his increasingly more obvious erection.

Suddenly One Eye shook his hands away and plunged under the water. For a terrifying, exhilarating moment Char thought that he was going to get his dick sucked underwater, but no… One Eye was swishing his hair free of soap, and he looked like some ethereal Mer king in the water, battle-scarred and mighty. And then he rose up, body sheathed in glimmering water, his head thrown back and his hair streaming down his back, and Charmont, god of desire and brother of Aphrodite, knew in that moment he had never seen anything so beautiful.

So when One Eye turned to him, a dark look in his eye, and his hands raising up from the water, Char was ready for absolutely anything. Everything. And then a broad hand pressed against his chest at the same time a foot hooked around his ankle, and with a shove, Char went down right under the surface.

When he surfaced, sputtering and cursing and shaking water out of his curls, One Eye, the mighty Forge god, scarred and half-blind and mute, was grinning at him in absolute delight. Char sputtered some more, and then lunged. They clashed together, and One Eye slipped and went down, gripping onto Char so tightly that Char went back under, unprepared, and came back up hacking water out of his lungs and laughing at the same time. One Eye surfaced behind him with a rumble, and took him down backwards.

By the time their pitched battle was over, Char was laughing so much he was snorting water out his nose. One Eye was grinning happily at him, something Char had never seen before in all his long years. With a snort of pleasure, One Eye moved gracefully to the edge of the pool and hefted himself up, standing gloriously naked as the water sluiced off his back and down his thighs. With a hand motioning for Char to follow, he strode out of the room. By the time Char had hoisted himself out, One Eye was back with an armful of fluffy towels, and he set them down on a dry flagstone and wrapped one around Char's head, scrubbing gently at his hair. 

Char was beaming at him, his chest tight with happiness. They dried off together, Char skimming out of his soaking silks and draping them over a low stone wall to dry. Both of them wrapped in towels, they walked together down the hall to One Eye's room. Char was full of nervous anticipation now. But One Eye rummaged in his wardrobe to bring out a clean, dry shirt and pants, and handed them to Char shyly. He found something for himself, and they dressed slowly, Char slowly sobering as he realized that he was not going to be in the forgemaster's bed tonight. He didn’t really know how to feel about that. Did the older god not want him? One Eye shook out his hair and wound it into a heavy knot at his nape, and then approached the younger god to gently take the butterfly from his hair, where it was twitching in irritation. 

Char stepped back. "I guess I'll see you next week?" His entire world was a single question now. Was this what rejection felt like? One Eye nodded at him, eyes still alight, and then bowed, took his hand, and pressed his mouth to the palm. 

With that, he ushered the god of desire out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Char slept in those borrowed clothes. He told himself that he was too tired to change into something of his own. The slightly smoky scent of the forge, the warm amber and clean sweat of One Eye's skin and hair, it surrounded him as he slept. But it wasn't because he was lonely. It wasn’t because he was not in the bed that he wanted to be in. Not that.

And when he woke, his sister was opening the curtains of his windows, grinning openly. "That's not your shirt, dear brother. You wouldn't be caught dead in plain linen." She eyes him gleefully. "Did someone get lucky last night?"

He groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes and bringing that warm smoky amber scent directly to his nose. "No one got lucky last night. He turned me away," he admitted, still groggy. Somewhere in his head he recognized that he would never tell the truth to his sister had he been feeling secure. But something inside him had changed. Some delicate machinery had been altered in function, as if he were an intricate automaton whose purpose has been restructured. He pulled One Eye's shirt closer around him and breathed in the scent of him. At some point, his sister left him be.

Char had always held the belief that anticipation increased the power of seduction. He rarely called his conquests within a three-day window, if he did call them at all. But now he itched with the desire to just… see the Forgemaster. Casually bump into him, maybe, and grace the old god with his presence. Maybe help carry something for him, and they would go down together to the forges and Char could watch him work, maybe, or… or… he groaned and covered his head with a pillow. Did gods need to breathe? Was there a way to die from mortification? Finally, he climbed out of bed and took a long shower, in which he might have needed to release some tension. After, flushed and smelling of himself again, he was about to tug on One Eye's shirt once more when he got a marvelous idea.

He could return the clothes. The perfect excuse. What if One Eye didn't have anything to wear?? And even better, he could wash them so that they would smell like him. Maybe the old god would even… bring them to his nose and inhale deeply when Char was gone. All around an excellent idea. 

Char padded naked to the washing room and tossed the shirt and pants in, after giving one long last sniff to them, and then turned on the washer. He padded back past his sister who glanced at him and murmured, "Put some goddamn pants on, you dick," as he passed. He put on pants.

What else was there to do? He went looking for something to drink.

***

One drink turned into four, and then his sister started doing shots with him, and by the time One Eye's clothes were clean and dry, Char was three sheets to the wind and dancing as he made his way through the complex. The God Complex, he thought, and laughed uproariously at his own joke. By the time he made it to the threshold of the forge, he was singing Abba.

And not Dancing Queen-- that might have been bearable. Everyone knew the words to Dancing Queen. No, Char was singing… "IF YOU SHANGE YER MINE! ILL BE FIRS IN LINE! HONEEY IM SHTILL FREEEEE! TAKE A CHANCE ON MEEEEEEE!" in the loudest possible warble his godly lungs could manage. One Eye, who had been sitting quietly at his table working on his delicate figures, watched Char in bemused astonishment as the young Dionysus made his swerving, hip-swinging way over to the table in about the least sensual way possible, his off-key voice ringing from the vaulted stone ceilings.

Char flopped the clean clothes in One Eye's lap with a flourish, and grinned. "Didn’t want you to be naked." He paused, tilting his head. "Well, actually, didn't want you to be naked in front of anyone but me." The metalsmith snorted at him, amused, and stood up from his chair, the clothing tucked under one arm. He offered his other hand to Char, who took it after one unsuccessful try, and guided the young god towards the hallway in which his bedroom lay. As they got closer to the bedroom door, Char felt unaccountably bashful. This was what he wanted, wasn't it? His addled brain attempted to untangle the cacophony of thoughts in his head. The surprising (to him) beauty of the forgemaster's body… the unfamiliar sting of rejection… and then last night, how his belly had ached with laughter as he had managed to drag the much heavier god under the falls in the bath and gleefully watch him sputter. Was this lust? It didn't feel like lust. It didn't feel like anything he had ever felt before.

One Eye had led him to the bed, and was lifting him onto it. Char grasped his shoulder, solid and warm under his hand. "Are you going to fuck me?" One Eye sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed as he tugged the covers up around Char's shoulders. He shook his head, and stroked Char's hair gently out of his eyes. Char huffed at him, not letting go. "Are you going to leave me?" He swallowed, consumed by a profound loneliness. "I know I'm a brat. And I've been awful… I said you smelled bad, but you don't. You smell so good. I slept in your clothes," he confessed, unable to stop his stupid mouth. "And I said you were ugly, but you aren't." He reached up to stroke One Eye's cheek, and One Eye didn't pull away. "Aphro got me drunk and then sent me down here because I get word vomit and can't stop talking and I always tell the truth when I'm drunk." 

At that, One Eye grinned ruefully, and shifted his weight to get up. Char clutched at him but he evaded the grasping hand nimbly. And so abandoned, he fell into a miserable, drunken doze.

***

And woke with his nose pressed into curly, smoky fur. His head ached abominably. He felt a large hand stroke his hair, and he groaned aloud at the mix of pleasure and agony. A soft snort against his forehead made him open his eyes , and then immediately close them at the bright pain that even a few candles caused him. "Did we…" he mumbled. "Did we fuck?" He paused, frowning. "Because if we did I'm going to be pissed that I don't remember it."

The same large hand that was stroking his hair now closed gently around his hand, and lowered it to press against his own chest, where Char could feel that his clothing was still intact. Wiggling his toes informed him that his boots were missing, but otherwise he was decently dressed. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed, so he pressed more deeply into the warm, strong body holding him, and tried to go back to sleep. The forgemaster was having none of it, though, and lifted him bodily to sit up in the bed, and bringing a glass to his lips. He sputtered through a mouthful of water, and then managed to drink down the rest of the glass without drooling on himself. He gingerly opened his eyes to see One Eye gazing at him, expression balanced between concern and amusement. 

Char closed his eyes again. It was not his proudest moment.

***

He managed the walk back up to his rooms without running into anyone. Being Dionysus, he had discovered, came with a lot of preconceived notions of behaviour. The other gods expected him to be drunk and expected him to have lots of sex, and though Char did do both of those things, this would be the first time he was returning from another's chambers with a hangover but without actually have gotten laid. And it was confusing to him. He had been naked in front of One Eye. Wet and naked. Pliant. Willing, even. Char could melt the will of kings and queens-- of celibate clergy and oblivious geniuses. Even as a human, very few had been able to keep their hands off him; as a god, if a person experienced sexual desire, he could ignite it with a flutter of his long eyelashes.

Did One Eye just not want him? Was he not interested in sex, perhaps? But Char, with his brain trying to escape through his eye sockets, could not think of a single reason why anyone would agree to go on three dates with him without being interested in sex. He was not known for his conversational skills, after all. Not that he was lacking-- people generally just never asked. His mind continued to circle these thoughts like a slow-moving drain until he found himself in his own kitchen, the question spilling out to his sister.

Aphrodite, dressed in orange yoga pants and an enormous grey t-shirt with the words, _Sleep is irrelevant. Decaf is futile. Caffeine will be assimilated_ in bright Borg laser green, sat on the counter with a coffee cup full of espresso and frowned at him. He blinked at her clothes, and then moved to get his own coffee. "Never fucking mind."

"No, hang on, let me _think_ , Char." She thought while downing the entire mug, and then set it down carefully on the counter, turning the handle so that it was parallel to the edge. Her fingers curled together like they always did when she was preparing to give a lecture, but it was a minute or two before she began speaking, long enough for Char to be sitting with a hot cup in his hand. "He… I shouldn't be telling you this." She set the cup under the dispenser for another quad shot. "This is not your first time."

"It's my first time to be rejected!" he began, but she shushed him angrily.

"Can you stop only thinking about your fucking self for a minute? Listen to what I am saying to you. _This is not your first time wooing someone."_

Char's brain began circling this thought now. It took him an entire cup of coffee before he could respond, but by then the headache was fading. "He's never dated before?" She shook her head solemnly. "What, never?"

"Jesus, Char," she snapped at him. "Stinking, filthy, half blind, completely mute. Isn't that exactly what you said, right here in these rooms?" He flushed at the reminder, and at his poor apology to the mortified forgemaster. The floor was suddenly extremely interesting. "Hephaestus is as cursed by his reputation as you are by yours, but it's not so simple for him to overcome it." She slipped down off the counter, the caffeine doing its work as she began to pace. "I asked him. If he would be interested in spending some time with you." She sat next to Char, lifting his chin with a determined hand and meeting his eyes. "And he was at first disbelieving, and then flustered, and then… hopeful. I don’t know if he wants to have sex with you. I don’t think he believes you would ever want him."

Char opened his mouth, and then closed it. Ella let his chin drop and he stared at his knees. "So what do I do? How do I know what he wants?"

Ella swallowed, and took his hands in hers. He raised his eyes to hers again, and she looked at him for a long moment, her sincerity clear. "Ask him, _you idiot."_


	4. Chapter 4

_  
_

Dear Char,

Forgive me, but I have business down the mountain for a few days. I thought perhaps you might visit, hence this note. My door is always open to you. I hope that I can enjoy your company again when I return. 

Affectionately,  
Hephaestus, whom you call  
One Eye

Char read the note twice. It was pinned on the door with a bronze nail, and written in a cultured, elegant hand. The god of desire stared dumbly at it for several moments, thinking only, _why did I not ask if he could write?_ His sister's voice answered, firmly, that he was an idiot, which he agreed with. Finally, he unpinned it, slipping the nail into his pocket, and tried the door. It was unlocked.

The forge was quiet, all fires within it banked. The same heat he was becoming accustomed to wafted around him, carrying the sharp sting of molten metals and the rich fragrance of hickory fires that had sunk into One Eye's clothes and that Char was now so attuned to. He meandered aimlessly through the forge room, and found himself again drawn to the storage alcove with its shelves full of metals and half-finished projects. He felt awkward, browsing through the work without the master present, but curiosity had often been stronger than sense for him. A delicate flutter out of the corner of his eye made him turn, and the little butterfly landed lightly on his finger.

In the glow of the fires, he could see now that stretched across the filigree of the wings was a sheet of gossamer, that caught the air and provided lift. It shouldn't be able to fly, but One Eye had somehow imbued it with magic to do so. The butterfly was so light that Char surmised that the tubes that made up the edges of the wing and braced the gossamer sails were hollow. He wished One Eye was there, so he could ask him. Sighing slightly, he lifted the butterfly up into his hair, where it sat flapping softly as Char continued his exploration.

Eventually, hunger drove him back to his kitchen, but he found himself, over the course of the week, returning again and again to the Forgemaster's rooms, the gold butterfly his constant companion. So it should have been no surprise at all, that he lay down to rest on the now familiar bed, and woke hours later to the sound of the heavy outer doors clanging shut. Char froze in consternation, debating whether to greet One Eye like a returning lover or to pretend he slept through the noise. Feeling unsure, he opted for staying in the bed and pretending to sleep, until the god Hephaestus made his way into his bedroom to find another in his bed.

A snort of amusement, and then the bed sank as One Eye sat on the edge of it. The scent of metal and dust and sweat and travel filled Char's nose, and he opened his eyes, a hesitant smile on his lips. "I guess I fell asleep waiting for you?" One Eye smiled back at him, and touched his index finger to his chin, and then pointed at himself with the same finger. Char cocked his head, scooting up in the bed. 

"Is that a… word sign?"

One Eye nodded, his gaze brightening. He repeated the motion, and then turned and took Char's hand, palm up, and traced letters into it with a fingertip. M I S S. He touched his chin again. M E. He touched his finger to his chest. Char, inexplicably, felt tears burn in the corners of his eyes. "Yes. I missed you." One Eye's amber eye went soft, and he made a Y with his thumb and pinky finger outstretched, other fingers folded into his palm, and gestured back and forth between their bodies. He spelled the letters S A M E into Char's palm. 

"You missed me too?" One Eye nodded. Char felt himself flush with pleasure, and he wished the lights were stronger, so that One Eye could see it. "Where did you go?"

At that, One Eye gave him a grin, and stood up, shifting packages to a table in the back of the room and hanging a few bags in his wardrobe. Once he was finished putting things away, he turned back to Char and motioned between them. He pointed at Char, and then made a K shape with his first two fingers and thumb and motioned between them. Char sat up straight, as if he were in class, and chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Me…" he began. "Between? You?" He smirked. "Does this have something to do with sex?" One Eye snorted, shaking his head, and made a different motion, pointing at Char and then beckoning him. "You want me to come to you?" It was an indication of how much he had missed the older god that he did not pause, but came right off the bed and reached for his hand. One Eye took it, and drew him in gently. He lifted his hand, palm up, and, unwrapping his other arm from Char's waist, brushed two fingers over it in a sweeping motion. Char shook his head. "Clean? Sweep?"

One Eye thought for a moment, and then placed his big hand back on Char's hip. He slid his fingers down Char's opposite arm and lifted his hand, as if to dance. Char swallowed, his cheeks flaming at their closeness now. One Eye's cheeks were dark with blush as well. Char tried to arrange his addled thoughts. "You want me to dance with you? Now?" The forgemaster shook his head slowly, and then lifted the hand on Char's hip to make a circle with his fist, palm upward. He shook his head even before Char attempted to translate, and was looking around the room for something, maybe paper and pen, when Char twigged. "Hera's welcoming ball this weekend?" Delight flooded One Eye's features, and Char smiled back. Char had honestly forgotten about it-- Hera had balls to welcome new gods to their ranks, and Char's own had been a lesson in endurance, since every single god and demi-god and well-connected human in the place had wanted to dance with him. His dances with his sister had been his only relief from the never-ending parade of people trying to grab his ass. He had avoided attending them as much as he could ever since, only showing up to be polite and leaving after a few dances. Any in pursuit of him for their arm candy had been turned away. But the thought of going with Hephaestus, of having his steady arm and his handsome smile all night, was enough to overcome any lingering distaste. 

"I would like that very much, Forgemaster."

One Eye stepped back from him, took up his hand and bowed to kiss it. Char tugged him back, bringing up his palm to press his lips to it. "Very much." His eyes dropped to One Eye's mouth, and without more than a heartbeat of internal debate, leaned in to kiss him. A tiny moan of surprise escaped the forgemaster's throat, and then those big hands were carding through Char's hair and that mouth opened under his and oh, they were kissing at last. Char nosed into him, pressing his body into that deliciously solid weight as he gripped One Eye's shoulder blades, and then his hips, tugging them into each other. One Eye tilted his head and licked tentatively into Char's mouth, and Char returned the touch, warm and sweet, sighing out his pleasure. 

Char felt his strength, too, when One Eye slid gentle hands to his hips to separate them. Their lips parted, and they kissed and parted again, until they stood holding each other. Char wanted nothing more than to drag all that strength and weight and gentleness into bed and be ravaged, but he took a breath, and then another. "My sister tells me I'm being an idiot, because I don’t know what you want." He filled his lungs again, looking down at his arms as they circled One Eye's waist. "Do you want to have sex with me?"

He heard One Eye swallow, and the forgemaster broke away from him now. Char sat down on the bed, nervously determined to wait until he got an answer, one way or the other. When One Eye came back with paper and a pen, he sat down so that their hips were touching, and wrote in a graceful hand. _I want you_ , he began, _to know fully my regard for you before we become sexually intimate. So that you understand that I am not falling into bed with just any beautiful man, but that I choose you above all others._ He handed the note to Char, who took it with fingers that he was surprised to find were trembling. He read the note over, and again. Such was his surprise that a tear escaped his eye before he could catch it, and One Eye wiped it delicately away, and then nestled his hand at the back of Char's neck. It was impossible to speak, so Char curled into One Eye's body, and felt those strong arms come up around him, and there they stayed for a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not fluent in ASL (American Sign Language), but I do have a good friend who helped me with translations. Any mistakes are my own. Thank you, Lee!


	5. Chapter 5

Char tugged nervously at the cuff of his dress shirt, and then ran a couple of fingers under the collar. Another new sensation-- he was not accustomed to having nerves before a date. But then, this wasn’t just a date. This wasn't an evening to endure with a person he barely knew and didn't much like-- this was One Eye, and he was done fucking up.

He hoped.

Aphro, already wearing her golden gown and looking every inch a god of love, stood in the doorway smiling at him, without malice. "Had I known how fond you would have become of him, I would have encouraged this much sooner, brother."

He grimaced at her. "Perhaps I would have found him on my own." She raised a dainty eyebrow at him, and he scowled at her in the mirror. "Eventually."

She walked closer to untuck his curls from his collar. "Perhaps you would have."

He tugged away, trying not to smirk at her. "Stop patronizing me."

"Mmm, when you quit being such a baby, maybe." He tugged his hair out of her fingers and scowled.

"This is hard for me, you know."

Aphrodite sobered, her hand falling away. "Love is hard for everyone. Even me."

And Char knew that was true. She didn't date casually, or bring warm and willing bodies back to her private rooms, and he thought perhaps that was the sort of person she had always been. "So why did you take this gig?"

She shrugged a delicate shoulder. "Health insurance was pretty decent." She smiled toothily at him until he grinned back, and then she held out the little hourglass. "I don't think you need this, but you might want to look at it."

He took it from her palm and held it up to the light. A single grain was suspended in the narrow throat of the glass, wavering back and forth between the bottom bulb and the top. He shook it, but the grain stayed in its little loop. "Is it broken?"

She smiled, and shook her head, and then pressed a long finger to her lips and looked pointedly at the door to their shared rooms. There was a shadow under the door. "You might answer it before he flies away, little brother." His heart began to throb against his ribs, and he squeezed the hourglass before absently tucking it in his pocket. Hands smoothed over his best coat, a beautiful silk of copper green, and the plain ivory linen shirt underneath that had made its surreptitious way from the forgemaster's closet to his wardrobe during the long week before. He took a deep breath. "I can do this."

"You can do this," she assured him. He went to open the door.

One Eye was standing outside, hand raised halfway to knock. His lips parted in surprise as the door opened on Char, grinning nervously at him. And then Char took him in, his eyes sinking all the way to the floor and back again, lips parting in something warmer than shock.

"Oh," was all that fell from his open mouth. One Eye was dressed in a beautifully tailored classic black tux, snow-white silk shirt beneath, and his silver-bronze hair pulled up into a heavy braid that was rolled over at the nape of his neck into an intricate knot. Char knew he was staring, but couldn’t pull his eyes away from the perfect fit of the expensive fabric as it curved over the forgemaster's hips. "Oh," he said again. Ella came up behind him, likely worried about the total silence at the door, and stopped short, her mouth opening as well. Char stammered something about coming in, and One Eye smiled a sweet, gentle smile. Ella cleared her throat, squeaked a hello, and burst into a cloud of white doves, spurting out the door in a long embarrassed stream, leaving more than a few feathers behind. Char grinned dazedly at him. "You're so handsome, you made Ella explode into birds," he remarked belatedly, pink in the face. "That's only ever happened once before, when Zeus dropped trou at the New Year's Eve party in 1999."

One Eye grinned as he stepped inside, close enough so that when he turned his body, Char moved at counterpoint with him, so that Char's back was now to the open door. He sank against it until it closed with a click. One Eye picked a feather from Char's curls, pointed at him, and then swept his open palm over his own face, bringing his fingertips to a point and then opened his hand like a blossom. His lips formed the word, _beautiful._ If possible, Char turned pinker, and then hid his eyes with a hand, overwhelmed with shyness. When he uncovered his eyes, the forgemaster was beaming at him.

Char cleared his throat, knowing that if he didn’t move, they were never going to make it to the ball and no one would see Hephaestus in that incredible tux, or him on the forgemaster's arm. But before he could say anything, One Eye opened his coat and pulled a thin black box from the inside pocket. He handed it to Char with a blush. Char stammered," I didn't… you didn’t need…" He was silenced by a gentle finger pressed to his mouth. One Eye nudged him with the package until he lifted his hands to take it. He undid the black satin ribbon with nervous fingers, and opened the box. Inside, on a black velvet pad, was a circlet made of the most delicate gold leaves that Char had ever seen. His eyes widened as One Eye took it with infinite delicacy and lifted it to crown Char's head. He took his time smoothing errant curls down behind his ears, stroking over Char's forehead and cheeks, before letting his hands drop away. Char reached up to touch it gingerly-- the gold leaves fluttered beneath his fingertips as if they were real. He swallowed. "Thank you."

In response, One Eye took his hand and pressed his lips to the back. Char's heart fluttered in his chest, and he wondered giddily if he was going to explode into birds as well.

***

The ball was in full swing by the time they arrived at the outer doors. Hera always held it in the pavilion that was nestled out behind the main complex of structures that made up their home. It was much newer than a great deal of the rest, having been commissioned from Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1900's. He was quite pleased to be designing for gods, and the structure was a cubist marvel, with a wide open hall and accommodations for hundreds of guests. Walking through the doors now, though, Char couldn't concentrate on the clean lines and beautiful mosaicked marble floors or anything but the god whose arm was around his waist. Rather than his normal bold storming of the open bar, he hung back, content to just be seen, and to show off his partner in turn.

And, oh, were they seen.

Hera, in a gold gown and towering heels, her silver hair piled in an elaborate coif, bustled up to meet them. She placed an elegant hand on One Eye's cuff, her eyes alight with curiosity. "Hephaestus! In all my years!" He turned slightly away from her, his head tilting towards Char, his hand tightening on Char's hip. Char took the hint easily.

"Hello, Mother!" He leaned in to kiss both of her cheeks, and she allowed it, perhaps realizing that she had made a misstep. She backed away, smiling, a hint of blush at her cheek-- no one was immune to Char's charms except for the man in whose embrace he was settled. 

"Well, you both look so fine together." She clapped her hands, the sound echoing through the already noisy chamber. "Welcome, welcome." One Eye was tense until she turned away, revealing several curious onlookers. Then he went positively rigid, as a gold-haired beauty of a man made his muscular, shining way to the couple. 

"Hello, Pollo," Char gritted. But the god in front of them didn’t even seem to realize Char had missed a syllable, his bright blue eyes raking over One Eye's body. He cast a fleeting smile at the younger god.

"Mmm, yes, hello darling. You do look fine tonight. Very fine, indeed," he murmured absently, his eyes not leaving One Eye's chest. The golden sun god reminded Char of the worst sort of fops from movies of the French court. Apollo claimed that he had been a noble in the Sun King's court, which would explain the arrogance and the three inch heels. Apollo leaned closer to the forgemaster, his nostrils flaring. "You, however, my dear Hephaestus, are looking positively ravishing." 

One Eye's hand tightened further on Char's hip, until he was certain it would bruise, and he wondered if he could add a few bruises to the smirking face in front of him when, out of the blue, Aphrodite appeared with a drink in her hand. "Back off, sunny. Neither of them have any interest in you." She handed him the drink. "Come dance with me, and stop being such a prick." 

The sun god frowned at her. "You are such a spoilsport, Aphro." But he took the drink.

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "And you are such a sore loser. Save it for the poker table, after I thrash you again."

They wandered off, arguing amiably, and One Eye's shoulder's sagged in relief. Char allowed himself to relax as well, and a grin bubbled up. "I'm already exhausted and we just walked in the door." One Eye turned fully to him, and put both hands on Char's waist. He glanced at the door and then lifted an eyebrow. But Char shook his head. "Fuck no, Forgemaster. I came to dance with you, and we are going to dance." He placed his hand on One Eye's shoulder, but the older god shook his head, a wry smile twisting his mouth. He tucked Char's hand against his own hip, and placed his hand on Char's shoulder, holding his other hand in the follower's position. Char twigged at once. With his sight restricted, One Eye was putting Char in control of the dance. He blushed. "I will try not to dance us into the punch table."

One Eye grinned at him, and then relaxed into his hold. Char just had to take the first step.

***

They danced far beyond the turn of midnight, until the floor was nearly empty and the music played just for them. All night they had danced and laughed, One Eye telling stories with his hands, his face happy and animated. He had even graced the hangdog Apollo with a waltz, after Aphro had taken him to the cleaners at the poker tables. Char had danced with his sister, but instead of chatting with her he just grinned stupidly at her, and every so often glanced over to make certain Apollo was not getting handsy. Aphro must have warned him that godly limbs might grow back but they grow back slowly, because the sun god was on his best behavior, if a bit starry-eyed in the forgemaster's arms. 

Finally, even Hera said goodnight, and it was just Char and One Eye on the floor, barely moving, gazing at each other. Char kissed his mouth lightly, and then grazed his lips over One Eye's cheek. "Thank you," he murmured. One Eye smiled at him, soft and mussed, his braid coming undone in graceful filaments. He kissed Char's forehead, and then brought his hand to his own mouth, before lowering it towards Char. Char smiled. "I know that means 'thank you.'" One Eye just blinked softly at him, like a contented cat. "You want to walk me home, Hephaestus?" 

One Eye contemplated him for a moment, and then reached down and lifted Char into his arms. Char laughed, delighted, and marveled that One Eye could carry him so easily. "Are you going to carry me home?" One Eye nodded, his eye sparkling in the candlelit ballroom. "To bed?" Char prodded. One Eye nodded again. Char's heart beat harder. 

"And are you going to leave me, then?"

One Eye grinned fiercely, and shook his head.


	6. Chapter 6

One Eye brought Char to the forges, carrying him the entire way. Char was pliant in his arms, soft without being tired. One Eye had lost his tuxedo jacket at some point, and the tie, and his heavy silk shirt was unbuttoned at the throat. Char had undone the buttons as they danced together, teasing the wiry curls of chest hair with a fingertip as they curled over the fabric. One Eye had tugged Char's hips into his, then, seating them together, and Char had endured the rest of the dance with their half-hard cocks rubbing against each other through too many layers. By the last note, both their mouths were open, panting softly, One Eye's hand indecently low against Char's ass.

That had been their last dance.

At the turning of the stairs, where a decision had to be made, Char, tucked his head to press the bridge of his nose into the underside of One Eye's jaw. Without opening his eyes he murmured, "I'm going to be loud."

One Eye turned for the forges, grinning.

They passed other gods-- honestly, they must have. A susurration of eddying gossip trailed their path in the darkened hallways, but it lessened the further through the complex they sank, until at the lowest levels, the sound was only of the fires of the forge and the two heartbeats in Char's ears, one his own and the other pounding against his cheek. And for once, Char didn't even check to see who was shocked and who was pleased; for the first time he didn't care what anyone thought of his chosen lover. His chosen. 

One Eye didn’t set him down at the threshold of the forges, or at all until he passed down the hall to his bedroom. At some point, the silk shirt fell away. At the door, Char couldn’t bear to wait another moment, and raised his head to catch One Eye's mouth with his. They nudged into each other, soft and searching, Char's teeth gentle over One Eye's bottom lip. The forgemaster dropped Char's legs and caught him up with a hand under his ass, the other pressed strong between Char's shoulderblades. As Char wrapped his legs around One Eye's hips, the door came open, and they stumbled in, kissing with smiling in between, and tumbled onto the bed.

Char had the good fortune of being on top, and he only elbowed the forgemaster slightly in the gut, drawing a breathy wheeze from the older god. Char beamed at him. "That's the first sound I've heard you make." His eyes slowly darkened. "I wonder how many more noises I can get you to make?" One Eye huffed, smiling, spread out beneath him, the bold lines of his tattoos swirling over his skin. Char sat up, his ass tucked in the cradle of One Eye's hips, and rocked very gently as he tugged off his coat. "You've made me wait…" he breathed. "And no one has ever found me worth waiting for." Strong hands braced his hips, and One Eye spread his knees, bringing them up so that Char could balance against his thighs. One dark eye watched hungrily as Char unbuttoned his stolen linen shirt, those strong hands stroking upwards over his flanks and chest, opening his shirt and dragging it off. Char stretched his neck, leaning back and pressing his ass down with a groan. "I want you inside me, One Eye. Tonight. Right now. Can we do that?"

One Eye bared his teeth with a hiss and tucked a finger into the waistband of Char's pants. He flipped open the first button with his thumb, and the second. The third popped open from the strain. Char lifted himself up on his hands, pulling one leg over to the side, and with some shimmying managed to get them off, along with his oxfords and a quick tug at each sock. Being naked in the forge god's presence was breathtakingly different now, and he had never wanted anything more in his life. He tugged at One Eye's pants until they gave with a snapping sound, and One Eye lifted his hips, allowing Char to undress him the rest of the way. When Char settled again, it was hot bare skin against hot bare skin, their cocks resting together and pubic hair tickling, and they both took a moment, just breathing, taking each other in. 

The forgemaster was hot and well-muscled beneath his hands, with a gentle give at his belly and a thick furry pelt covering his pectorals. The scent of their bodies was clean sweat and arousal and smoke and honey from the candles they had danced under, and Char breathed it in until it filled his lungs. One Eye was still beneath his hands, a very slight tremble giving him away. Char sank down into his arms, their mouths finding each other's again, as One Eye's hands stroked over Char's ass, fingers in-between his cheeks and down over his hole, until Char was moaning helplessly into One Eye's mouth. "Please don't make me wait any longer," he pleaded. 

One Eye reached over to the small table at the beside, where a little grey bottle of Astroglide sat. Char grinned at him, joy fountaining from deep in his chest. "You got that when you got the tux, didn’t you?" One Eye nodded, a smile in his eye as he flipped the cap and squeezed it. Nothing came out. He cocked his head at it, and a little mystified, undid the cap as Char watched him, slowly rocking. There was a little foil cap on the bottle, which Char picked off gently with a fingertip. "You are spoiling me," he whispered, and circled his hips with a pleased groan. One Eye breathed out again underneath him, and with shaking hands, poured lube onto his fingers. Char kissed his forehead, and threaded his fingers through the braid coming apart, until long curls of bronze and silver fell around the forgemaster's shoulders. He stretched up as One Eye's hand slid back down, a warm finger coming to rest against his hole. 

One Eye stroked him slowly, pushing in with a curled finger. The angle was bad, but neither of them could give up kissing each other just yet, so One Eye worked slowly, tugging at the rim as Char moaned softly above him. Char broke first, wanting more, and eased One Eye's finger out to tuck it under his thigh. With better reach, One Eye pressed his finger all the way in, rubbing slowly over Char's inner walls until he stroked over the rounded slope of his prostate. Char bucked and keened, teeth biting where they were pressed against One Eye's throat. "More, please, more," he whispered against One Eye's skin, and the forgemaster obliged with another finger, slow and gently pressing inwards.

Char's braced himself with a hand, and lifted the other to grasp both their cocks together. He squeezed and relaxed, moving the sheathes of their skin together, thumbing over both their cockheads and spreading the hot slick of precome in circles. One Eye stuttered underneath him, his hand gripping Char's shoulder a little too hard, and Char eased off, slowing his strokes and squeezing their lengths together instead. One Eye panted under him for a moment, fingers still, and Char kissed him again. "Too much?" One Eye nodded, a rueful look in his eye. Char kissed the rucked skin over each eyebrow. "I want you to come inside me too." 

With a heavy, shuddery breath, One Eye bent up to pour more lube down the crack of Char's ass, and added a third finger. Gently, he rotated his hand, pressing against the sides of Char's rim, until it was Char that gripped his wrist. "Enough. I'm going to come just from your hand if you keep doing that." He pulled One Eye's hand out of him, and sat up to rub his lubed ass against the base of the forgemaster's cock. One Eye handed him the bottle, and Char grinned at him, dripping lube onto him without touching him. They were both shaking now. Without any other preamble, Char lifted himself up on his knees and guided One Eye's cockhead inside of him.

The forgemaster pressed his head back against the pillows, his hands gripping Char's hips, and a great shuddering groan escaped his throat, like the plates of the earth shifting in his chest. Char seated himself with a sharp cry, and then they moved together, Char falling to brace on One Eye's chest as the forgemaster held him down and shoved his hips upwards, snapping his teeth together. Any gentleness was burned away in the wildness of their coupling; Char held tight as One Eye drove him upward, until he was being bounced relentlessly on the forgemaster's cock, moaning helplessly with the strength of the god underneath him, driving the searing heat at the base of his spine into an ever-tightening spiral of white.

Beneath him, teeth gritted together, One Eye gave a sharp hiss with each thrust, and his hands were pressing bruises into Char's skin. Char was delirious with his own ecstasy, unable to even try to hold back his orgasm as it exploded through him, ripping a scream from his throat as come spattered across One Eye's chest, hitting the forgemaster's chin. One Eye arched beneath him, eye squeezed closed, and with a loud, gasping groan, he shuddered and spilled hot into Char's body.

Char collapsed as soon as his spine unlocked, flopping heavily against the broad, sweaty chest of the god that had just made him come harder than he ever had in his life. He panted, wheezing, his body twitching with aftershocks, his own come smeared under his cheek. One Eye shifted, his knees drawing up to keep his cock inside Char a little longer. They rested together, softening and panting, One Eye lifting a shaking hand to stroke down Char's back. Char kissed his chin, and then his mouth, and as One Eye's soft cock slipped out of him, the forge god turned them both on their sides, facing each other. Char giggled at the trickle of come that tickled down his perineum, and One Eye beamed at him, stroking his sweaty hair from his eyes. They kissed and rested together, sticky and sweaty and entirely sated, until at some point, Char drifted off in his lover's arms.

And woke to the sweet warmth of water washing over him. He opened his eyes to find he was being held in the water like a small child, while One Eye's hand stroked over him, washing in between his thighs and his asscheeks, over his chest and under his arms. He sighed and let his head fall back into the water, drifting. "I love you," he said softly, unable to look and see the skepticism he thought would be in the forgemaster's eye. "I know we haven't known each other long… but never in my life has anyone…" His words failed him. He took a breath and tried again. "And I feel safe with you. And treasured." His head settled against the forgemaster's hand, and he risked peeking open an eye. One Eye was gazing at him, soft and open. He waited until he was certain Char was looking, and then made the same sign with his hand after he had asked if Char had missed him. _Same,_ he motioned between them.

Char drifted down until his feet touched the bottom of the pool, and he straightened, tucking his body into One Eye's arms and then leaning back to look at him. One Eye watched him with a gentleness that made his heart kick against his ribs. He touched the forgemaster's mouth with a fingertip. "Promise me you will teach me your language."

One Eye raised both eyebrows, and studied him for a long moment. Char blushed under that piercing gaze but didn't look away. "I've rarely been serious about anything in my life, One Eye." He took a deep breath. "I choose you above all others."

A delighted smile blossomed over the forgemaster's face, and he pulled Char against him, spinning him in the pool of their affection. Char kissed him, smiling back, and let himself be spun.


End file.
